Stephen Webster Scoops Grosvenor Sustainability Prize in London
LONDON — Stephen Webster, the British jeweler whose battle against plastic waste led him to create the sterling silver straw, has scooped the inaugural Grosvenor Sustainability Award here.
The award is meant to recognize environmental and social leadership across Grosvenor Britain & Ireland’s Mayfair and Belgravia property portfolio, and to reward brands and retailers that are working toward better, more sustainable practices.
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International property company Grosvenor is one of the U.K.’s largest and oldest landowners, and Webster’s store is located on one of its properties, on Mount Street in Mayfair.
Grosvenor said Webster won for a variety of reasons, including his efforts to source sustainably and to repurpose materials; the use of renewable energy for the brand’s premises, and for the company’s target to halve carbon emissions by 2030. The company said it is working to get its goals approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.
In 2022, the business will also launch “green pensions,” or pensions that help address climate change; source IRMA (Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance) recycled gold, and increase the sustainability of its packaging.
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The award is a year’s supply of green energy worth up to 10,000 pounds, and 3,000 pounds toward a digital advertising campaign, which will be created with Grosvenor.
Amelia Bright, executive director of Grosvenor’s London estate, said the company established the awards scheme “to celebrate the huge strides made by our tenants to help make Mayfair and Belgravia London’s most sustainable neighborhoods.”
Webster said that for several years, he and his team have been focusing on “being as sustainable and responsible as possible across all our business practices. Our green team works tirelessly on this mission and makes sure our clients are part of the journey.”
Webster was among the first British jewelers to receive a Fairtrade gold license more than a decade ago and has since then been spearheading a number of sustainability initiatives.
He has introduced a service called Reset, where customers are able to bring in old jewelry for Webster and his team to redesign, and has also been seeing success with his Last Straw initiative. He created the sterling silver straw as a statement against the use of plastic straws, with a portion of proceeds from the sales going to Plastic Oceans, a charity that wants to end plastic pollution.
For its part, Grosvenor has published the first annual update on its Net Zero Carbon Pathway, which will see it become net zero by 2030.
The report says across Grosvenor’s business, buildings, developments and supply chain, emissions fell by 20 percent in 2020 compared with the previous year. The company said that while lockdowns “inevitably impacted building use and emissions,” it remains on track to meet its 2030 target, “with collaboration with tenants critical to success.”
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